Can feeding mechanism



N. P. BACH CAN FEEDING MECHANISM 2 Shee ts-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 2, 1952 I mvzNfoR 1 ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 7, 1936 1 I r. N. Y, assignor to Amei-ican Can Company New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 2, 19:2, sci-hi so. closes 6 Claims. (01. 198-22) The present invention relatesingeneral to can ieeding mechanism and has more particular ref- 7 erence to the retardation of cans as they are received from a high speed operating machine so I that the cans maybe further handled without fear of denting or .improper crowding.

In performing certainoperations on tin cans the tendency of recent-years has been to increase the speed of operationof certain machines such, 10 for example, as double seamers which apply the bottom end to the can body or 'to can closing machines for double seaming the top end to the filled can, and such seaming machines often handle as many as three hundred cans a minute.

lS'Cans which are discharged from a machine at this speed are necessarily subjected to relatively I rough handling unless special precautions are taken to-properly catch them. They are liable in being guided around between guiderails to Ii become dented or bent as a result of such excessively high speed. a

The present invention contemplates slowing down of the cans and as they are reduced in speed theynecessarily are brought closer together. In other words the spaced relation be-- tween adjacent cans as received from the high speed operating machine is reduced and the cans .are brought into closer spaced relation.

The principal object of the present invention 80 is the provision of am feeding'mechanism for receiving cans froma high speed operating machine and for gently retarding their travel so that they may be easily handled for subsequent operations in other machines or as isusual in filled and sealed cans coming from a closing machine so that they may be stacked prior to heat retorting. or other treatment.

An important object of the invention is the provision of can receiving arms in a machine of 40 the character described which individually re-' ceive the cans from the fast moving machine parts and. while permitting the cans to travelin a smooth, unbroken, straight or gradually curved line, gently retard their, movement so that when they are delivered from the arms they will be travelingfat a greatly reduced speed.

' A further important object 'of the invention is,

the provisionof a can feeding mechanism which receives cans in a given spaced relation and which brings them'into closer spaced relation while retarding their travel.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it isbetter understood from the following description, .which,

taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof. g I Referring to the drawings:

- Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the feeding mechanism embodying-= the present ins vention showing its relation to a movable high speed can carrier, parts being broken awayr Fig.2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along the broken 2-2 of Fig. 1;-

g. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of one} of the canreceiving arms illustrating its retardingcontrol. a

The apparatusillustrating the present invention may be applied as an attachment to a can 15 7 closing machine for filled cans or to acan double seamer for-securing the bottoms to can bodies and is so positioned as to receive the cans as they are discharged from the fast moving part of the highspeedmachine :f This can feeding mechanism comprises, a plurality of radially disposed turret arms pivotally" carried on a uniformly rotating turret, each arm being cam controlled to move it on its pivotal I connection with the turret so that after receiving a can and while it is being carried bodily forward with the turret the can 618 8 8 part is, a

retrograded, retarded or moved backward by thepivoting of the turret arm. This control of the can travel is assisted by va suitably curved guide rail which holdsthe can in the pocket of the turret arm and gently guides it without abrupt change of travel until it is discharged in the ultimate place of deposit.

,Onlythe discharginspartofthehigh speed",

mechanism is illustrated in the drawings. this being indicated by a movable disccarrier 2i (Fig. iimounted on a shaft 22. These parts are suitably associatedwith a table 23 which is pref-.-

erably a part of the seaming machine and which provides a floor forthe moving can.

The carrier 2| is formed with spaced canpoclrets 24 into which seamed cans 2| are delivered in the usual manner. Whilein -these pockets the cans are conveyed at a high rate 48 of travel along a circular path determinedby a guide rail 2' carried on a bracket 21 mounted on the table 23. 1 r

As a can 25 approaches the cadet the guide rail is a turret armjl is brought into position 5 toreceive it, this am being provided with a can receiving pocket 22.- This pocket is. moved opposite to the pocket 24 and atthe same rate of lineal travel sothatthe can afterleaving Each shank is freely pivotally movable within its bore 36.

'Ihe turret 31 is keyed to a sleeve 4| of a gear 42 which is rotatably mounted upon'a stationary shaft 43 carried in a bearing 44 formed in a housing 45. This housing'46may be a part of the frame of the double seamer or it may be an independent unit. In the drawings it is illustrated as supporting a coverpiate 46 on which the table 23 maybe mounted. The turret 31 is formed with an annular groove 41 into which a part of the'plate 46 loosely projects, this construction preventing entrance of moisture or extraneous substances within the gear housing during cleaning of the machine. The upper end of the shaft 43 is reduced at 48 and is held in a bracket 49'bolted at iii to the housing 45.

The gear 42 mesheswith a pinion 52 which is keyed to the upper end of a vertical shaft 6'3 mounted inbearings 54 formed in the housing 46. The shaft 63 also carries a gear 56 which meshes with a gear 51 keyed to a vertical shaft 66 journaied ina bearing 59 formed in the housing. The shaft 63 may be any suitable drive shaft for the retarding mechanism and may or may not be a part of the driving mechanism of the seamingmachine.

The lower end of the shaft'53 is reducedwhere it passes through the gear '56 and a washer 6| and lock bolt 62 threadedly engaging the end of the shaft holds'the shaft in working position.

Rotation of theshaft 58 is thus' transmitted to the turret 31 which continually rotates and carries the arms 3| with it. During each rotation of the turret each arm is carried from can receiving position into can discharging position and thence back again to can receiving position thus completing the cycle. It is while an arm is passing between the can receiving and the can discharge positions that the can is carried over the table 23 and held in its turret arm pocket 32 by a curved guide rail 66 (Fig. 1) bolted to the table.

When approaching the discharge position, the can 26 engages an inner guide rail 66 which is spaced from the rail 66 being also mounted upon the table 23. The rail 66 now acts as a stripper and as the can is brought against a curved surface '-of the guide rail 66 it is moved out of .the

pocket of the arm and is then brought to any suitable place of deposit. It will be observed that there are no abrupt angles or corners in this path of travel.

, 'It'is during the time that a can is received within an'arm'pocket 32 untfl it is stripped from the pocket by the guide rail 66 that retardation takes place. This is done by a backing up of the pocket end-ofthe arm while the bodily advance, of the arm with the turret, continues. This will now be described.

. Retardation'of the outer end of the arm is accomplished by pivotal or rocking movement on its depending shank 35. To effect this pivotal action each arm 3| carries a pin 61 on which is rotatably mounted a cam roller 68 which traverses a cam groove 66 formed in the lower face of a cam keyed to the reduced end 43 of the shaft 43.

The cam 1| is held in stationary position on the shaft through the medium of a key 12 which extends into the bracket 49 (Fig. 2). The shouldered part of the shaft is also drawn up against the cam, holding it against the bracket. A washer I3 and lock bolt I4 threadedly engaging the upper end of the shaft is used for this clamping purpose.

As an arm 3| approaches the can receiving position its outer can pocket end is held in forward position on its turret mounting. The rotation of the turret issuch as to insure uniform lineal movement of the pockets 24, 32 at this time. The arm 3| now receives the can 25 in its pocket 32.

There is no pivotal movement or at least only slight pivotal movement of the arm until the can is taken out of the turret pocket 24 and moved along the guide rail 65. From the position indicated by the letter A (Fig. 1) until the can leaves the turret arm the cam groove 69 operating on the 'cam roller 66 pivots the arm 3| backward so that the can is retrograded in its passage along the rail 65. At station B (Fig. 1) the can comes against the rail 66 and the moving arm 3| then sweeps it from its pocket 32. As soon as the arm has delivered the can it is pivoted in the opposite direction during the following 180' or more of turret rotation and is brought again in position to receive another can at the proper time.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

l. A can feeding mechanism for receiving cans from a rapidly moving can carrier, comprising a movable member adapted to move adjacent said carrier and at substantially the same speed of travel, can receiving pockets carried by said movable member for receiving the cans from said spect to the speed of rotation of said rotatable member to retard the travel of a said-can while it is in said can receiving pocket.

3. A can feeding mechanism for receiving cans from a rapidly moving can carrier, comprising a rotatable member having can receiving pockets movable adjacent said carrier and moving at substantially the same speed of travel so that a can is received therein, means operating on said can receiving pockets for altering their speed relative to the speed of rotation of said rotatable member while a can is within a said pocket to retard the travel of said can therein, means for discharging said retarded can, and means for a turret rotatably mounted adjacent said can carrier, arms mounted on said turret and having can receiving pockets into which the rapidly moving cans are transferred from said carrier, and means operating on said'arms while being carried by said turret to move them back relative to the turret and while turret, arm and can are advancing together for uniformly retarding the travel of said arm pockets and the cans carried thereby so that the cans are discharged from said turret at a slower travel than their travel in said carrier. 7 i

5. A can feeding mechanism for receiving cans from a rapidly moving can carrier, comprising a turret rotatably mounted adjacent said can carrier, arms pivotally mounted on said turret and having can receiving pockets, means for transferring cans from said carrier into said arms pockets, and a stationary cam mounted on the axis of said turret and operating on said arms for pivoting them on their turret mountings and retrograding their travel while a can is in a feed arm pocket to retard the movement of said cans while in said arm pockets.

6. A can feeding mechanism for receiving cans m from a rapidly moving can carrier, comprising in combination movable pockets for receiving the cans from the rapidly moving carrier and in the spaced relation given them in the carrier, said pockets uniformly slowing the advancement 01 u the cans to bring them into closer spaced relation while moving with said kets, and means for discharging said cans rom said movable members.

NEILS P. BACK. n 

